I've been falling for a long time now
by Craploadsofawesomeness
Summary: The day Kara's life changes, she doesn't even realize it. Or The few meetings in which Kara Danvers falls in love with Lena Luthor
1. Chapter 1

MEETING #1 – AN ENCOUNTER

The day Kara's life changes, she doesn't even realize it.

It is an odd arrangement of various events, different accidents and crimes occurring with perfect timing that leads to her meeting Lena Luthor. Well, the word meet could be a tad bit inaccurate, since the word implies both parties being fully conscious, and involves at least a little bit of normal, not-sounding-weird-to-an-outsider conversation. Encounter might be more appropriate, considering the fact that all of the events take place in a crashed aircraft where Kara sticks her head through the broken window, pulls a bit of debris out, looks at the woman strapped in next to the pilot, and says "Hey, you're safe now."

Encounter it is, then.

Kal-El is there. He turns up in the middle of her trying to stop the sharp descent of the plane, and like the feminist hero that he is, politely asks for permission to help before jumping in, which she very much appreciates. Together they manage to save the passengers, and create a safe landing. Then he hangs back while she pulls the woman out, and then proceeds to saving the rest of the people.

The woman gets over her haziness in two minutes, which Kara considers rather impressive, since most people come out of the shock of their almost-accident and promptly go into the shock of seeing Supergirl in the flesh. This one speaks for the first time when Kara is in the middle of walking away from the crash-site.

"Supergirl," she says, slowly, as though musing over the name and Kara nearly drops her in surprise. Then she makes the mistake of looking down at her, and nearly drops her again, albeit for an entirely different reason this time.

Bright green eyes stare up at her through dark hair, and Kara hadn't noticed it while saving her life, but this woman is beautiful. She's got straight dark hair, the fringes of which fall over her (stunningly pretty) eyes. A perfect nose, and full pink lips complete the rest of her sharp features. She finishes her mental inventory, returns to the woman's eyes only to find her still staring at her, flushes to the roots of her hair, and hurriedly tears her eyes away.

"At your service," she replies.

"I'm Lena", the woman introduces herself authoritatively, seeming to regain some of her bearings "Thank you for saving my life."

"It's my job," she tells her, as she sets Lena down, a few miles away from where the cars are approaching (or so she guesses from the faint sound of car horns and sirens).

"No, it's not," Lena responds "But you did it anyway."

Kara looks away from her eyes after a moment and shrugs. That's when she picks up on some disturbance in the city. She signals to Kal, who waves her on.

"Who are you?"

She looks back "You said it yourself, didn't you? I'm Supergirl."

And with that, she flies away.

MEETING #2 – AN INTERVIEW

Cat tells her about it right before she's about to have lunch.

Which is cruel of her. Winn, ever positive, of course thinks it's an accident, but Kara, who knows Cat Grant inside out, assumes that her boss somehow knows that ordering her to interview Lena Luthor will make her appetite go away. As implausible as it sounds, she's learnt never to underestimate Cat Grant. The news of Supergirl saving the life of the magnate of L-Corp had been highly publicized, and no doubt her boss finds it hilarious, sending her to interview someone whose life she has saved once.

Another reason she feels apprehensive about this meeting is because she looked up Lena Luthor after she went home, and found out all about who she was related to. Kara is well aware of who she is related to, and how her cousin feels about their family. The first time she'd told him all about who she'd saved, his eyes had gone steely, and he'd just stared off into space, frowning hard.

"I don't like this," he'd said.

"What, that I saved her life?" she'd asked him, incredulous.

"Not that. It's just that...she's a Luthor. Her brother...who's to say that this isn't just some elaborate plan of his to harm me, one that she's involved in?"

She'd given him no answer then, not really having one that could simultaneously ease his (admittedly justified) paranoia and set his mind at peace. Now however...

"Hey, Kal," she says the instant he picks up the phone "Didn't you tell me once your newspaper wanted you to get an exclusive with somebody really important? Because, see, I had this idea..."

They meet at the lobby of L-Corp an hour later. Her cousin hasn't reached there yet, so she takes a moment to look around. The outer offices are plush, and well-furnished, and it's mostly quiet with the quick footsteps and small murmurs of the employees speaking of efficiency. The receptionist at the counter seems to be eternally busy, answering calls on the multiple telephones placed in front of her.

Kal shows up a few minutes later, apologising for being late. Together, they are given access to the inner part of the building. A woman escorts them up an elevator, and through a variety of security measures. Kara thinks it's appropriate, considering the danger Lena Luthor's life seems to be in these days. They finally reach the heart of the building, to an elegant door that says L. Luthor on it. The woman opens the door, and Kara takes a deep breath, before stepping in after her cousin. The furniture in this office is sparse, but looks classy,and everything looks to be in its rightful place.

In fact, the only thing looking out of place in the setting is the woman standing aginst the gigantic glass screen looking over the city. Where every object in the place is still, calm, stable, there seems to be barely restrained energy in her. She seems to be talking on the bluetooth speaker attached to her ear, and her hands are moving, as though gesturing to an invisible audience. Periodically, she shifts her stance from her right to left foot, or bounces on the balls on her feet. A few minutes of talking later, she switches off her speaker, and turns back to face them.

Kara had been holding her breath in. It happened every time she would come face to face with someone whose life she'd saved. Maybe it was out of apprehension that they'd realize who she actually was, or an attempt to make herself smaleer than she actually was. It was a completely unconscious gesture, one that she was unaware of, and one she couldn't have stopped herself from doing.

Today, though, she does realize that she was holding her breath.

Because, when Lena Luthor turns towards her, it rushes out of her in one long 'Whoosh'.

As she would later explain to Kal, it was just a reflexive action, something that might happen to anyone at any moment, and not something he had to be worried about. Truth is, Lena Luthor had literally knocked the breath out of her. Now that she isn't in mortal peril, and covered in bruises or dust, Kara is reminded of how absolutely lovely she is. Her long dark glossy hair, falling over her forehead, the perfect arch of her nose and cheekbones adorning a well-defined, shapely face, and her eyes...

"Ms Luthor," Kara leaves the green-colored phenomenon her world had momentarily become, to find out that Lena has been staring at her the entire time Kara has been staring at her, and Kal is now calling her name.

"Ms Luthor," he says, shooting Kara a puzzled look, as though asking her what was up with her. They both break the staring contest and turn to him.

"I'm sorry, Mr Kent," Lena apologizes "Please, your questions."

Kara hangs around awkwardly as Kal, sorry, he was Clark now, asks his questions, probing suspiciously at the reasons she'd escaped the first crash she was supposed to have been in. She doesn't say anything till Lena brings up her second crash.

"Lucky Superman was there," she says offhandedly, not looking at them.

"Supergirl was there too," Kara points out, offended, then tones down her indignant demeanour "In fact, I heard she was the one who actually saved you."

Lena arches an eyebrow at her, and smirks "And, who exactly are you?"

She stammers now "Um, I'm Kara Danvers...I'm not with the Daily Planet. I work for Catco magazine...sort of."

Lena's smirk grows wider, and Kara can't understand how something so infuriating can seem so attractive "That's a publication not known for its hard-hitting journalism, is it?"

"Oh, I'm just...tagging along," she manages to say.

"Whatever," Lena replies, after a moment "I'm in a bit of a hurry so if you ask your questions, get it over with...I suppose you want to know if I had anything to do with the first crash."

"Did you?" Clark asks, a pleasant smile on his face.

"You wouldn't be asking me that question if my last name was, say, Smith, would you?"

"Oh, but it's not. It's Luthor," Clark retorts, smile still superglued to his face.

Lena looks up at him from her desk with an absolutely dazzling smile on her face, as though she actually welcomes the challenge "There's steel under that Kansas wheat" she says, playfully, and Kara irrationally, for a moment, resents her cousin, because she wants to be on the recieving end of that smile.  
Then she decides she is being stupid, because what in the universe, Kara?

They hear her tell her story, of how she was adopted, and how her brother was the only one who made her feel like she belonged somewhere, and Kara doesn't know if it's only the fact that she looks so forlorn while talking of Lex Luthor, but she believes her. They use their powers to look out for anything out of the ordinary, but there isn't anything strange in the office. Lena hands them a flashdrive, and Kara assumes this mission is over and done with. However, Clark surprises the hell out of her by telling her to look out for more, and leaving her alone near the vending machines.

"Kal!"

"Come one, Kara, humor me on this."

"What am I supposed to say if they ask me why we're still here?"

"You're smart," he urges "You'll think of something."

And with that, he's gone.

Silently cursing him in her mind, she wanders around the corridors, trying not to look conspicious and like she belonged. She doesn't find any mysterious doors, or sealed off cabins or anything. Neither are there any people whispering about top-secret anti-Superman projects. What she does find, though, is Lena Luthor.

"Ms. Danvers!" she smiles "We meet again!" She motions for the two men walking beside her to go on without her, and they leave "And where is Mr. Kent?"

"Um..." Kara says, eloquently "He found a friend here, and they're off...talking, somewhere here."

"Leaving a beautiful lady all by herself? I must say, I'm not very impressed with him right now."  
Kara blushes.

"Are you waiting for him here?" Lena inquires "Because if not, I have a car waiting outside, one I have get into, and if you don't mind, maybe we could walk out together."

"Of course I wouldn't...mind, that is."

They walk in silence for a while, till Kara asks something that has been burning in her mind since the interview "Why did you not mention Supergirl saving you?" When Lena turns to look at her, questioningly, she stammers a bit "I just, you know, thought it weird, that's all. I'm sure...other people would...too," she finishes, awkwardly, regretting having brought up this dangerous topic at all.

Lena looks at her some more, and Kara adjusts her glasses, but unwilling to back down. Finally, she smiles, a teasing, playful smile, and Kara' superhuman heart picks up speed.

"I just wanted to mess with you a little bit," she confesses "I guessed you were a Supergirl fan, and thought it would be fun."

"How did you...?"

"I read your gushing article on her in an edition of the magazine you work for."

"So you do know me," Kara says "Why on earth would you..."

"Ask you your name? Like I said, purely in pursuit of amusement. Come on, Ms. Danvers, you don't for one second think that after an attack like that, I would let just anyone into my building without the strictest background check, do you?"

She finally smiles at her, amazed at this woman "You..." she starts "You are absolutely..."

"What?Wonderful? Intellectual?" Lena cuts her off, then looks up at her innocently "Beautiful?"

Yes, you are, Kara thinks, but doesn't say aloud. Instead she says "Something".

There is silence after that, till Lena once again breaks it when they are almost to her car"Just for the record, I do think a lot of Supergirl."

"You do?"

"To be the reciepient of people's adoration, and at the same time, a convenient target for them to blame their personal failings on when things go wrong must be extraordinarily difficult. And yet she goes out and does it every day, every hour without any expectations. She must be a remarkable woman."

Kara falters for a bit, because no one has ever thought of her life that way before, and yet it makes so much sense.

"What?" the woman walking beside her asks, when she falls behind.

"I don't think anybody has ever said it like that, before," she tells her, honestly.

Lena tilts her head, and looks at her for a moment, before turning and climbing into her car.

She lowers the windows as the engine starts "You," she says "You are quite something too, Ms Danvers."

And then she is gone.

MEETING #3 – AN UNPLANNED DINNER TOGETHER

The third important meeting that Kara remembers is entirely her fault.

It comes after a few more times. Kara, who has been assigned the job of writing a juicy article on L-Corp has to talk to Lena Luthor to ask her questions on her beloved company, and after a few inquiries, conversation invariably turns to their private lives, and before she knows it, she and Lena have become...friends. A lot of evenings see her at Lena's office, curled up on her couch with Chinese take-out and wine, talking late into the night about literally everything under the sun. It alarms her how well a friend Lena's managed to become in such a short amount of time.

What alarms her more is how distinctly not-just-friendly her thoughts on said friend are sometimes.

It's just, something about Lena. It's not just the way she looks, although her looks are...Kara could write sonnets about her, her delicate yet strong features, the cut of her jaw, her green, green eyes (She has, actually. It is embarrassing.). Her mind is the most attractive part of her. It works lightning fast, and she has an entirely different way of looking at the world that makes Kara stop and reconsider. And Lena makes her laugh. All the damn time.  
Well, except for their last meeting, a week ago.

Kara thinks about it as she floats high above Luthor towers, eating potstickers out of the take-out container. About their last meeting, when Lena had proudly shown her the newest creation worked out by her employees – the alien detector. She had no idea how she'd managed to not erupt into a furious outburst right then and there (Not that it would have worked. Lena was annoyingly stubborn when it came to decisions she had made herself). They had sort of argued over it, and now Kara was giving her the cold shoulder. She was here to find out more about the alien-detector, and whether there were more models of it lying around.

That was the official story, anyways. The actual one was that she missed Lena. Missed her razor-sharp wit, her jumping from topic to topic during their conversations, her laugh...Stupid human, she thinks, stupid stubborn human, who doesn't know anything, while digging into her container for more.

After a while of more digging, she frowns. That's weird, she wonders, I could have sworn there was some more left...

It takes her five seconds to understand, and then she's swooping down as fast as she can. Mid-flight, she curses herself for being such an idiot. For being such a sentimental idiot, that, to have an optimal position for hearing Lena's voice clearly, she'd positioned herself right bove her office, which is why the potsticker must be falling on her balcony. She watches in alarm, as the potsticker moves closer and closer yet to Lena, who had unfortunately come out to the balcony, presumably for some fresh air...closer, and closer, and...she makes a mad grab for it, beats gravity, and plucks it out of the air, just a few nano-moments before it would have splattered sauce all over a very expensive suit.  
She doesn't get lot of time to celebrate her save, because Lena's voice rings out from where she is standing looking out over the city, all without having turned around "Supergirl."

"Oh, come on," Kara whines out "After all this trouble?"

Your shadow is visible," Lena tells her as she turns around to face her, highly amused "That was what gave you away." She pauses, then frowns "What are you doing here, by the way?"

"Checking on the alien detector devices you are planning on releasing," Kara replies, landing on the balcony.

"How do you know about that?"

Kara pauses. It's not as if she can say "You showed it to me". She straightens up, authoritatively "I have my sources."

Lena looks sheepish, then, as though realizing that this is an alien she is talking to about her alien-detecting device "I suppose you're not to happy with me either."

"Either?" Kara asks her, voice deliberately casual.

"Kara wasn't pleased about this," she admits.

"Kara? Who's that?"

Lena gives her a long, measured look "A friend."

Kara waves her hand, privately having fun playacting "Well, whoever it is, she's right."

"Well, you would think so."

"That's not why...well, obviously it sort of is, but that is not the main reason I am so against it. It's just plain discrimination, like...say, the Yellow Star Jews had to wear back in Nazi Germany..."

"Are you comparing me to Hitler?" Lena sounds incredulous, which...okay, calling her Hitler was taking things too far, but Kara gets incoherent when passionate about the topic at hand "People have a right to know if they are at harm, if their lives might be at risk by being in contact with these dangerous aliens..."

"I am one of these dangerous aliens", she states flatly "And I saved your life a month ago."

Lena falters a little, but tries to cover it up quickly "You are the exception."

She raises an eyebrow "Am I? Are you saying that you're not scared of me? That you trust me to not harm you?"

"I am, and I do" Lena replies, without hesitation, and it throws Kara off balance for a moment, because she obviously means it, and she has no idea why.

Before either of them can say anything anything else, there is a knock on the closed door of the office. Lena groans.

"Fuck, can't I get one moment in peace from everything? I swear, they're always there asking me questions or asking me to sign some papers, or expecting me to make instant decisions. It's like I have no life outside of L-Corp."

Kara looks at her, and make a split-second decision "You said you trust me? Do you stand by that?"

Lena squints at her "Yes".

She smiles, steps forward, and looks questioningly at a stunned Lena, who nods without thinking about it "Hold on to me, then."

Then she takes an extremely surprised Lena Luthor in her arms, and flies off into the sky.

Lena smells nice. Her perfume isn't all tht flashy, it's subtle, and sort of fruity, but in an understated way, which suits her, and Kara finds herself inhaling deeply as she flies up towards the highest tower in the city, all the while enjoying the feel of the woman in her arms. It makes her feel guilty, but the way Lena clings to her drives all thought from her mind.

She finally lands on the deserted rooftop, and makes a gentle landing. Lena doesn't step away instantly, instead remaining locked in position, her elbows on either side of Kara's head.

"That could be counted as assault, you know?"

"If that was assault, then it was a very welcome one, okay? I saw the look on your face when there was that knock on your office door. You did not want to deal with them," Kara retorts, confidently, even though there is a very huge part of her that still can't believe she just did what she did.

Lena stares at her for a long time, and she tries not to squirm under the scrutiny. Finally she smiles, and now it's Kara's turn to stare as what seems to be the most beautiful face on the entire universe stretches into a wide grin. I'm screwed, she thinks, I'm completely, utterly screwed.

"Fair enough," she says "But you owe me lunch. You just flew me away from a very delicious lasagna meal."

Kara mentally smacks her forehead for being so forgetful, of course Lena, being the workaholic that she is, wouldn't have eaten yet. Then something occurs to her, and she flies off again.

She comes back in five minutes, and has the satisfaction of seeing Lena's eyes widen at the sight of the enormous two boxes of pizza she's holding in her hands.

"Okay, I know that you're a superhero, but this is ridiculous. How on earth did you manage pizza in five minutes?!"

"I am a woman of multiple talents," she says, head held high in the air. Then she drops the smug facade she's holding "Also, people really love Supergirl."

It is one of the best afternoons of her life , that day, when she kidnaps Lena Luthor away fom her office, and has lunch with her. They eat, ad talk, and Kara looks at the gentle smiles Lena sends her way, and feels absolutely content, the most satisfied she has ever been. They even debate about the alien detector thingy, and Lena, a little grudgingly admits that she may have been a little discriminatory in her initial assessment of aliens.

When Kara finally drops her off at her office, it is already sundown. She sets them down gently onto the balcony, and waits for Lena to go. Like before, though, Lena stays in position, arms locked around Supergirl, looking up at her.

"Thank you, Supergirl" she says "For a wonderful lunch."

Kara clears her throat nervously, trying to cover her awkwardness, and Lena finally takes a step back.

"I'll...see you around, I guess" Kara says, fumbling, more like her daily life personality than her larger-than-life superhero-self.

"I look forward to it," Lena replies, and Kara can feel the warmth in her voice all the way down to her bones. She turns around, prepares to take flight, and is just about to jump, when there is a voice from behind her.

"Hey, Supergirl?"

She turns around, and is surprised to see Lena still standing there. Her mild surprise, however, gives way to absolute astonishment, though, when the woman, rushes forward, presses a quick kiss to her cheek, and blushing furiously, walks back into her office, leaving her standing there all by herself.

Kara holds a hand up to her cheek, marvelling at the still-there feel of Lena Luthor's soft lips. Then she dazedly makes her way to the ledge and flies off into the dark.

If the citizens see a blue and red blur doing somersaults in the air and zooming around, they chalk it up to one of the alien eccentricities their beloved hero seems to suffer occasionally, and dismiss it.

"Must be something," she picks up on an old woman, walking in the park "Supergirl must be happy today."

"Defeated a super powerful alien," a ten year old muses.

"Met her real family today," a college student guesses.

"Maybe," a guy sitting in a bar says, smirking "She got lucky tonight."

High above the world, Supergirl thinks of green eyes, and a mischievous smile, and agrees wholeheartedly.


	2. Chapter 2

MEETING #4: WHO'S GONNA SAVE YOU TONIGHT?

When she is in battle, Kara likes to think of herself as a creature of logic.

Alex disagrees, of course. She thinks Kara is all instinct, all gut-feeling, and no tactics, but then Alex has always been the superior fighter. Kara knows that when it comes down to it, she is capable of applying both her brain and her gut in an evenly-matched fight. She knows how to deal with a criminal in a hostage situation, what to say, what not to say. She knows how to position herself in a fight so that she has the upper hand, where to hit so it hurts the most. Her alien brain works overtime, during a fight, keeping tabs on a lot of things at once, her enemy's weaknesses and strengths, their skills and how they might weigh up against her own. When it comes to getting out of a tight spot, she is pretty much sorted.

And yet, now, as she stands trapped inside a Kryptonite cage, staring into Lena's panicked eyes across the room, everything disappears.

The world is a blur, this warehouse they are in, the musty smell of cobwebs, the overwhelming nausea and exhaustion from the Kryptonite. All she can see is Lena. Lena, who is human. Lena, who has bruises on her arms, and dark circles under her eyes from her three days of captivity. Lena, who is scared, not for herself, but for Kara.

 _Don't be scared,_ she wants to tell her. _Don't be scared, darling, I'll be fine as long as you're okay, as long as she doesn't harm you, as long as she doesn't touch you, I'll be alright._

She finally tears her eyes away to drag them at the person who is the cause of this, for lack of a better word, shit storm they're in the middle of. Lillian Luthor smirks at her, the dim lightbulb reflecting off her face, throwing half her features into shadows.

"The mighty Supergirl," she announces to her audience of two "Brought to her knees by a human."

"You haven't defeated me, Lillian," she replies, in defiance.

"Oh, I wasn't talking about me", she replies, airily, and Kara is confused for a minisecond. Then she gets it.

"Supergirl," Lena speaks after a long time now, hands straining at the ropes that bind her to a chair "Don't listen to her, please, don't do anything she asks you to do…."

Lillian strides over to her daughter, and slaps her across the face, so hard that the chair wobbles on its legs, and a tiny cry escapes out of Lena.

Kara would later tell J'onn and Alex that she doesn't remember much of anything because of the Kryponite, but to be honest, she knows she will remember all of it forever. Every little detail. If not of what happened exactly, and in what order, she will definitely remember the way she felt. The actual details of how she gets out of the Kryptonite lined cage is a mystery, because all she knows is an overwhelming amount of rage flowing through her veins at that specific moment. All she knows, is pain. Pain she knows Lena is in, the Kryptonite doesn't matter at that moment. She doesn't remember fighting off Corben, who arrived as soon as she broke out, and neither does she recall the DEO finally bursting in, and rescuing them.

What she does remember is how she felt when Lena was within reach, finally. When she untied the knots on her wrists, hands trembling from blowing out all her powers on breaking out. When Lena slid into her arms as soon as she was free, and they had their arms around each other, breathing heavily, sobbing. The sheer relief, the utter profoundness of that moment.

"You," Lena had sobbed into her shoulders "You're safe."

And she had just nodded, breathing in her hair, not trusting herself to say a word. The only thing that had been going through her mind had been that she would have killed for Lena. That, had Lena needed it, she would have died for her.

Meeting #5: Insomnia

When Kara cannot sleep, she flies.

She usually just takes off in her pajamas, wandering, floating around the city, idly tracking passing cars, sometimes listening to people talk in hushed whispers below her. She catches snippets of conversation, glimpses into the lives of normal people, people who don't have the weight of an entire city resting on their shoulders. Sometimes she midnight snacks in mid-air, the ridiculousness of it all making her laugh.

Tonight, however, her first day out after regaining her powers back after the flareup, she does none of that. Still in her uniform, she sets out to fly, but it's not aimless. The night is cool, and the world silent as she lands on the balcony outside Lena's house.

"You're awake," she says, surprised. It's midnight, and while Lena has a tendency of working late sometimes, it is a lot later than her usual bedtime.

Lena looks up at her from her vantage point "I was waiting for you."

The honesty in the statement startles Kara, and from Lena's expression, even her. That lasts only for a minute, though, and she regains her neutral expression back. Although it's not totally neutral. Kara know Lena, and yet she doesn't recognize this look in her eyes. It's intense, like Lena is looking past her into what's inside. If she is being completely honest, it scares her a little.

Lena stands up to look out over the city, her shoulders brushing Kara's , a gentle, comforting feeling beside her. They stand in silence for a while, just watching the tiny lights. Lena is the one who finally breaks it.

"You saved my life."

"I did," Kara replies, and there is silence again. She can feel the woman beside her struggle with something though, like she wants to say something but can't find the right words. So she waits.

"Supergirl," she starts again "What my mother did, I'm so sorry for that, I'm so, so…."

"Don't be," Kara tells her "What your mother does has nothing to do with you, and you are not to blame for that."

"But I do feel guilty!" Lena says, her hands reflexively tightening on the bars of the railing "If it hadn't been for me, you would never have been there, you wouldn't have been trapped, and she wouldn't," her voice tapers off into a pained whisper "She wouldn't have hurt you."

Kara turns to look at her, and all of a sudden, she feels an ache in her bones, and she feels exhausted, like she has nothing left inside, anymore. The sound of the city is a distant blur now, and she feels lightheaded. Suddenly weary, she leans against the wall, tired in her craving for the woman in front of her.

"Lena," she whispers "Can I hug you?"

When Lena moves into her arms, she aches again, but it's for a different reason. Now she seems to have her here, she doesn't want to let go. She never wants to let go. She wants to keep her safe forever, standing in her arms under a starlit sky, to protect her, and to make her happy _. Lena_ , she thinks _. Lena, Lena, Lena, Lena_ , her mind repeats this miracle of a name in her head _. I love you_ , she thinks, and it doesn't even surprise her anymore.

Lena's grip on her tightens, as she lets out a shaky breath "Supergirl…."

"Kara," she hears herself say "Call me Kara."

When Lena moves to look at her, Kara sees no surprise in her eyes.

"Kara", she says again, and that look is in there again, the intense look. Kara wants to ask her what it means, but she is too tired for questions and answers. So she just raises an eyebrow, waits for Lena to speak.

"I like saying your name," Lena tells her, like she is making a scientific observation.

"I like hearing you say it," Kara tells her back, and Lena blushes. Then she hesitates for a moment, and leans up, presses a tiny kiss to Kara's forehead.

When Kara cannot sleep, she flies, and right now, with Lena Luthor in her arms, all she feels is the peace of flight.


	3. Chapter 3

Meeting #6: I want Candy

What do you call the space between knowing you love each other and _knowing_ you love each other?

"Torture," Alex says, and laughs.

Kara raises an eyebrow at her, because a few weeks ago, she was in the exact same place with Maggie, and now that they're all sweet, and cuddly, and kissy together, she is now a convenient target for her sister.

"Oh, come on, Kar," she placates her, leaning over the table at Noonan's to push a donut into her mouth "It's a joke."

"I hate not-single you," she grumbles, but doesn't mean it. Alex has never looked happier, for all the time she has known her. Her eyes shine with unbridled joy all the time, now, more so when she is around the object of her affections.

Who Kara doesn't feel very affectionate towards right now, since she tilts her cup of coffee towards her, and teasingly says "Awkward sexual tension. That's what I'd call it."

"Could you stop," she buries her head in her arms, blushing furiously, as Winn bursts into giggles "It's not like…..Lena and I are not like…."

"Like in the totally-disgustingly-have-the-hots-for-each-other stage?" James walks towards them, dragging a chair and sitting down on it "Yeah, buddy, think again."

"I do not have the hots for Lena!" she exclaims, and everyone snorts.

"Liar, liar, cape on fire," Winn mutters.

"It's true," she says, and it kind of is. Of course she has noticed how gorgeous Lena is, how, for lack of a less-millenial word, hot she is. She has eyes. Eyes that have noticed the perfect placement of all her features together, which have swooned over her green eyes and her shapely nose, and her visibly soft lips. But that is not all her eyes see. She sees the way Lena sits up in her chair from time to time to stretch out the kinks in her neck and the pained expression on her face when she does this. She notices the tiny smile that appears on her face, a little like a secret shared only between the two of them when Kara says or does something ridiculously stupid, the cautious way in which she laughs at a joke. She observes how her laughter is, over a period of time, growing less cautious, and freer.

She wants to keep it that way forever. She wants to tuck all of her little quirks inside her pocket, and carry it with her at all times. She wants to treasure small moments with her, to take them out at times when she misses her, just to remember the particular way Lena's face had scrunched up when she had been confronted with candy. Candy.

"Candy," she says out loud "It feels like candy when you're ten years old, and know that there's some for you on top of the cupboard. You're not worried about it, you don't want to tell the candy you're very glad to have it, you just…..know it's there. The candy and you are meant for each other, and words are meaningless when it comes to…feelings."

There is a moment of silence.

"Did you just call Lena candy?" Alex asks incredulously, swatting at her with a tissue paper.

"I know, I know, I didn't think it through. Very unfeminist of me, I know, but I swear, I didn't mean it that way, I just…."

"Wanted to eat her like a candy," Winn says, and he and Maggie hi-five.

And that's it. Kara gives them a withering look, face blazing red and walks out of there composedly.

"You look…kind of angry," Lena tells her at lunchtime that afternoon.

Kara sighs, and adjusts her cape on the couch better. She had just finished helping with a fire over on the West side, and was exhausted. Plus, she smelled like smoke. She's considered going home to change, and get out of her clothes that probably smelled like smoke. But once she had started flying, muscle memory, and the sound of Lena's heartbeat had brought her here.

(Yes, she knew what Lena's heart sounded like. So sue her)

"Alex. And Maggie. And Winn. Oh, plus James. Were all being assholes."

Lena chuckles at her pout, and her heart swells with a burst of feeling so intense it clenches in her chest uncomfortably.

"About?" she asks, eyebrow raising, and Kara blushes, waves her question off.

"It doesn't matter. Just know that they were being assholes, and you hate them too. And that you're on my side."

Lena gets out of her chair to adjust the shades on her windows, walks over to the couch to stand in front of her "Darling," she says, smiling wide, mischievously "I'm always on your side".

Kara stands up too, too suddenly it seems, if Lena's startled expression is anything to go by "Are you?" she questions, but her voice is quiet and she already knows the answer. Lena is always on her side.

"Lena," she says her name, and then, foggy from her proximity, leans forward. Presses a kiss to her forehead. Then she stops "Sorry," she mutters "I should've asked."

"It's okay," Lena whispers, a little breathless and Kara closes her eyes, a familiar craving starting up in her again. She bends again, presses a kiss over her right eyebrow. Her left. Kisses her left cheek, moving over her soft skin, then her right. Her nose, and Lena scrunches up her nose adorably at that. She moves down, moves her lips over Lena's chin. Then she does it all over again, kissing every part of Lena's face except for her lips. She aches to kiss her, properly kiss her, but hesitates, not knowing what's stopping her.

"Kara," Lena trembles in her arms, and the movement makes her seem so tiny, so fragile, Kara automatically tightens her arms around her waist. It almost makes her open her mouth to tell her she loves her. Almost.

"Lena," she says back, solemnly, and Lena smiles.

"What?" she asks her again, but Lena only shakes her head mysteriously, and reaches a hand up to tuck a lock of hair behind her forehead.

"What are we doing?" she asks Kara, and Kara goes back to thinking.

What do you call the space between knowing you love each other and _knowing_ you love each other?

"Just being us," she replies, and it's enough.


	4. Chapter 4

Meeting 7:

Lena Luthor, inventor extraordinaire, multibillionaire CEO, owner of LCorp, loves facts. They are her bread and butter, her tea and sugar, her knife and fork, and other high society references Lillian made her learn when she was a child. Born eternally curious, she would bug Lex about things all the time when she was a toddler, needing explanations for the littlest events that occurred in her everyday life. Logic and reason made sense to her.

Logic and reason still make sense to her. As do facts. She has a habit of mentally noting things down, to store in her memory for ready reference. So, these are the things she knows.

Fact 1: Kara Danvers is a terrible liar.

(Honestly, she is such a terrible liar that Lena is surprised the entire city doesn't know by now who their beloved superhero is. Putting on a pair of glasses and letting your hair down does not a disguise make, but then again, she _is_ related to Clark Kent. The Clark Kent who also puts on glasses to become invisible. She supposes Kara gets a little leeway there.)

But leave disguises aside, Kara also doesn't know how to improvise. Now that she _knows_ knows what Kara's true identity is (and not just 99% sure of it), Kara really needs to be coming up with better explanations. She texted her this morning with a 'Can't make it for lunch, got a tiny thing somewhere else'. When Lena had texted 'This tiny thing got anything to do with fighting some dangerous entity?', she'd reverted back with an 'Uh, no?'.

Lena appreciates the sentiment behind it. She gets that Kara doesn't want her to worry, but she should know that Lena would worry less if she was properly appraised with the happenings.

(And the address of the fight. And the time. So she can turn up and make sure Kara doesn't get hurt)

Either way, she worries. Which brings her to…..

Fact 2: She, Lena Luthor is a pathetic being who is disgustingly in love with aforementioned terrible liar Kara Danvers.

She has no idea how it happened. Or when, exactly. Or why. Zero idea. Absolutely nil. But the fact of the matter is, as she sits here looking up some stupid documents she has only half her mind on because the other half is focused on Kara ( _How is she, is she hurt, is she okay, does she need anyone, is there help about_ ), she has to admit that somewhere along the line, somewhere between all those first meetings and double roles as Supergirl and Kara, somewhere between all those late night texts and early morning breakfast dates, she fell dangerously fast for the stupidest alien in the world.

Also the cutest. And the kindest. The sweetest. The good _est._ Her head smacks her for the grammatical error but she really couldn't care less, because that is what Kara is. The best person in the entire universe.

And apparently, also the person who is going to be crashing through her window in about half a minute.

Lena rushes over to open the French doors that lead onto her balcony and manages to make it just as Kara flies in, and crash lands onto the floor.

"Kara," she looks her over, frantically moving her hands over her shoulders and her limbs looking for signs of solar burnout bruises on her body "Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened?"

Kara stills her hands (Lena hadn't even noticed that they were trembling out of panic and the deep fear she still feels in her bones) by holding them, and pressing them close to her chest. "I'm okay", she says "I'm okay, Lena, really. Just exhausted."

"Are you sure?" she asks, still a little doubtful.

"Yes, sweetheart," Kara reassures her, the endearment slipping out of her easily and Lena's stomach twists a funny way that she has recently begun to associate with all things Kara Danvers "I just need to rest a little while."

She starts to sway a little where she sits, and Lena shakes her "Okay, up you get. You're too heavy for me to carry to my couch, and you cannot sleep here."

"Says who?" Kara grins; a hint of mischief in her tired eyes, and Lena finds herself smiling back as Kara pulls on her hands "Come on."

"Kara, what?" she asks, but her personal superhero, the pride and joy and hope of National City pouts, and pulls at her till she is lying on the carpet on the floor of her office. Kara wraps her right hand around her, and makes herself smaller till she has her face buried in Lena's neck, her limbs folded awkwardly so that they are entangled with Lena's.

"You're ridiculous," she murmurs, face buried in Kara's hair, the sweet smell making her feel a little dizzy "You are utterly ridiculous, and that's a fact. Fact number three. And fact number four is….."

Kara mumbles something sleepily, snuggles in even closer, and the swoopy feeling in Lena's heart gets so intense she shudders. She gently runs her free hand over Kara's back, strokes her hair, and kisses the top of her head.

 _That I love you_ , she thinks, continuing a thought from before. _I love you, and I don't know if you're asleep right now but I don't want to tell you like this. I want you to look at me, and hear me, and understand how much I love you, Kara._

"Stop thinking so much, Lena," Kara tells her, voice muffled, and Lena smiles and closes her eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

Meeting #8: Why did the world stop spinning?

"So how important is this LCorp gala thingy anyway? Just a bunch of stodgy old dudes in bowties, right?"

Kara sees Lena roll her eyes, and smiles "What?" she asks again, because she wants to rile her up some more.

"You know it's important," Lena tells her "Those stodgy old dudes in bowties have a bunch of money that, if I can manage to convince them to give me, will fund the newest energy-saving technology I'm trying to implement in National City. Which is why this gala needs to be splendid. Marvellous. Eye-smacking….."

"Full of food," Kara finishes dreamily, eyes wandering somewhere as she thinks of potstickers. She comes back only when Lena laughs, a rich, full sound that fills her up inside in a way only Lena seems to know how to. Her laughter sounds like bells, clear, beautiful, and Kara suddenly thinks she wouldn't mind starving for months on end, if it just means listening to her laugh on and on.

"Please tell me you'll be there," Lena looks at her, questioningly.

"Uh, stodgy old men, not really my packet of takeout," she replies, proud of her own joke.

"Please," Lena implores, eyes wide and innocent, like she is unaware of what it does to her (Kara is convinced Lena knows, and just likes flustering her).

"But…"

Lena bites her lip, and Kara is gone.

Kara Danvers is a sucker for Lena Luthor.

"You can say that again, sister," Winn says it in her earpiece and she sighs.

"Why are you here today instead of my sister?" she asks, flying from across town where a building had been on fire twenty minutes ago.

"There was another alien who was causing trouble somewhere else. J'onn went to take care of it, and Alex went with him to help the agents there," Winn tells her, and she can hear the muffled sound of chewing.

"Are you eating chips, Winn?" she asks, amused.

"How dare you, Kara?" he asks, sounding highly affronted "I'm at an LCorp event. Of course I'm not eating chips."

She pauses a little "Fancy chips?"

"Yes," he admits, grudgingly, and she laughs out loud as she speeds up.

She sees the building from far away. An LCorp event is a big event, and admittedly, Lena has gone all out. There are expensive lamps all around the balcony, electric lights draped tastefully over the small potted plants, and Kara can hear the music playing, a soft tune that sounds classy. Waiters are milling about, offering drinks and food to the guests, and Kara feels her stomach grumble at the sight of it. Later, she thinks, and lands on the balcony. A few guests see her, and nudge their conversation partners to alert them of her presence. She smiles as she walks into the room, a little out of breath from her flight, eyes searching till she finds Lena.

Lena is in the middle of what seems to be a riveting conversation with a very important political figure, and when he notices Kara, he taps her on the arm to draw her attention to the newest guest. Lena turns around and Kara loses her breath all over again.

Lena is beautiful.

Like, so, so beautiful.

She is wearing a simple black dress that fits her exactly, exposing just the perfect amount of skin to keep people wondering. Her shoulders are free, unencumbered by cloth, and she can almost feel how smooth Lena's skin is. Her hair is tied up, in an elegant knot at the top of her head, and the back of her neck is visible. Kara is…

"Drooling. You're drooling," Winn says into her earpiece from his vantage point near the dinner table, but Kara ignores him because….

Lena is looking at her. This gorgeous woman with the gorgeous green eyes and the gorgeous smile is smiling wide at her, and Kara suddenly feels inadequate, because Rao, the woman she is in love with is absolutely perfect. It hits her like an arrow to the chest, like a rope around her knees, like Kryptonite. She feels weak, disoriented, for a moment by her sheer radiance.

"Supergirl," Lena says, coming up to her "You made it."

Kara just stares, mouth open like a fish.

"Yes, she made it," Winn appears out of nowhere, nudging her ribs hard enough for him to wince himself, and for her to break her out of her reverie "It was a hard day at work you know, what with all the fires and the accidents and the hey, Lena! How have you been?"

Lena, who Kara assumes has by now grown used to Winn's antics, only chuckles and starts talking to him, giving the superhero a little time to catch her bearings.

"You okay now?" Lena asks her, voice sounding concerned, and she waves it off.

"I'm fine," she replies.

"Yes, fine," Winn mutters under his breath "Almost as fine as Lena looks tonight, huh?"

Kara shoves her elbow into his stomach, and he walks away, grumbling "Absolutely fine. I just…"

"Yes?" Lena asks her gently, and Kara doesn't know where the next words out of her mouth come from.

"Would you like to dance, Ms. Luthor? With me?"

And Lena's eyes grow wide with surprise, and people start talking beside them, but Kara only sees the tentative way Lena lifts her left hand, and places it in hers. She guides her to the middle of the room where the other couples are dancing, and wraps her other hand around Lena's waist.

"Is…is this okay?" she asks, her new-found confidence wavering a little.

"We have hugged before, Kara," Lena whispers back, amused.

"Right," she says, flustered, and starts swaying them around.

A few beats into the dance, Lena speaks again, leaning up to reach Kara "I didn't know you could dance," she says.

"I didn't know you could," Kara replies "This ball thingy was a regular occurrence on Krypton. My parents were kind of a huge deal and formal dances were, required."

"Lillian," Lena says back, an answer to a previous question "High society girls were supposed to waltz beautifully with high society boys."

Kara feels a twinge of annoyance and jealousy at the mention of the high society boys, but brushes it off, letting go of Lena momentarily to dip her. The last paragraph of Billy Joel's "The longest time" keeps playing, and she pulls her closer again.

"You look beautiful tonight," she tells Lena, who blushes.

"Just tonight?" is asked back, with a teasing tone.

The song finishes, and they stop moving, but Kara doesn't let go "No," she replies "Not just tonight. Every night. Every morning. Every moment of every day. You're beautiful."

They keep staring into each other's eyes, till another song starts up, a faster one. Kara slowly lets her arms fall, and never once breaking eye contact, walks out onto the balcony and takes off into the night.

Meeting #9: How have the stars come alive?

Lena is waiting for her that night.

She does, every night, but this time it feels different. Kara feels it like an alien invasion, there's a strange buzzing in her limbs, a nervous energy that seems very unusual at this time of the night.

"You're up," she observes, rather uselessly.

"I am," Lena notes back, and the air feels awkward again, till Lena moves forward slowly and hugs her.

"Thank you," she whispers "For coming to the gala. Even with the old dudes around."

"I'm sure Winn won't like that you called him that," she jokes.

Lena chuckles at that, and the sound makes Kara feel like she is flying at the speed of light. She sinks into the hug, tightens her arms around her. Makes a strange sound that she never thought would ever come out of her mouth. It is a mixture between a sob, and a sigh, and a laugh. She doesn't understand what it is. At this point, she doesn't care.

"Kara, sweetheart, are you alright?" Lena asks, leaning back to get a better look at her face "You're…..oh, God, you're crying, Kara."

"Am I?" she asks, stupidly. She hadn't realized.

"What's wrong?" the woman in her arms asks; worry coating every syllable of that question.

"I…..nothing," she replies "Lena, I….."

"What?"

"I think I love you," she tells her, recklessness flowing in her veins, and Lena freezes. The entire world does. Even the wind has stopped blowing, and Kara moves forward, the silence only egging her on.

"You think?" Lena questions her, trying to pass the question off as a joke, but failing, a crack in her voice giving away her vulnerability.

"No, I…..I know I love you. I am, very sure. It's stupid, and it's not fair to you that I put you in so much danger all the time, and that being around you makes you the target of so many people in the city, including your mother, and I know it is very selfish of me to say this to you, but Lena," she shudders over her name "I can't stay away from you."

"I tried, but something or the other keeps pulling me back, and I have to assume it's your gravity. I cannot escape it. I do not want to. I do not want to run when I am with you. You make me want to slow down and breathe, and you make me want to laugh and smile and save the world. You give me hope, and you give me relief, you…..are the red sun in my world, Lena, you give me peace."

There are tears running down Lena's face, and slowly, gently, Kara kisses them away, starting at her cheeks, moving onto her nose, kissing both of her eyelids tenderly. She only realizes Lena is saying her name when she leans back a little.

"Please, Kara," Lena whispers "Kara, God, please, just…."

And Kara doesn't let her finish, takes her face in her hands, and kisses her.


	6. Chapter 6

Meeting 10: All night, and every night after that

The world is beautiful when you're in love, Lena thinks.

The statue of the old man outside of the LCorp headquarters seems to wink at her as she gets out of her car, and walks towards the stairs leading up to her building. She grins at every security guard she passes on her way, and they all smile back, unsure. Probably wondering how their future boss has suddenly gone insane.

(It's love, she thinks, and a million fireworks burst inside her gut simultaneously. Love that has her so happy. Love that has her sleepless and hunger-less, and smiling all day)

She flies through her paperwork faster than she ever has before, mind half on her superhero flying around town, half on the papers in front of her. She hasn't had breakfast, and she still isn't hungry (Sleeplessness for a weekend can do that to you, she has discovered the hard way recently. Not that it matters; she spends half her nights daydreaming about Kara and feeling her stomach twist every time she remembers the way Kara said 'I love you'.).

Just three words. Three words and she was gone. This is beyond pathetic.

Jess looks in on her around two, raises an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Lunch, ma'am," her assistant says, deadpan.

"I'll eat something," she promises distractedly, calculating something in her head.

"You probably won't," Jess replies "I'm going to order something."

"No!" bursts out of her, and it startles both of them "Just…I'm really not hungry."

Her ever capable assistant doesn't say anything after that, promises to be back from her lunch in about an hour and leaves Lena alone, who goes back to her life of drudgery among numbers and operators. To the torture. To all the pain and agony and the….

Her phone bursts into song in the middle of her monologue, and she answers it without looking.

"Hello?" she asks, scribbling.

"Lena."

Lena feels her whole body release a breath she seems to have been holding the entire time, and the smile that spreads on her face embarrasses her, but she answers anyway.

"Kara," she breathes out "Hi."

There's a constant whoosh whoosh in her ear , which she ignores because well, she assumes her…..love slash paramour slash potential mate slash generally awesome person is currently flying. Kara pauses for a second.

"Hi," she says again, sounding nervous, and Lena would laugh if she wasn't that nervous herself then. This phone call is casual, yet now there's an undercurrent of something she can only describe as butterflies littering every interaction between her and Kara, and she is not used to feeling so high-schooley.

"What are you doing?" she asks.

"Oh, you know. Just flying around."

"Just recreationally?" she says, amused, and hates herself for thinking that if all Kara was doing was flying recreationally, she could come and see her.

But no. She was a Luthor. Luthors do not give away affection first.

"Yep," Kara replies "Totally casually. Just for fun. It's fun being being up so high. So high above…"

She cuts in the middle "Sweetheart, you're rambling."

"Sorry," the superhero replies, sheepishly "I tend to do that a lot."

"I know," she tells her, quietly, her stomach twisting suddenly with an ache "I don't mind it at all."

"Really?" comes an equally quiet voice from the other end.

"Yeah. I like hearing you ramble. I miss hearing you ramble. I miss…I miss you."

There is silence on the other end, and Lena closes her eyes tight, vulnerable and in unfamiliar waters.

"I miss you too," Kara replies, but her voice sounds different now. Louder. No whoosh. Not digital. She opens her eyes.

"Hi," the girl of her dreams smiles back at her.

She stands up, and they stare at each other, uncertainly, five feet apart.

"I'm going to hug you now, okay?" Kara tells her, softly, and she nods, a little giddy.

Then suddenly Kara is right there in front of her and she feels her strong arms wrap around her, and she sinks into her warm embrace. She smells like Kara, a little bit of fruit, a little bit of flowers, and Lena wants to stay there forever, breathing in the girl she loves, safe and sound.

But every hug has an end, and this one ends, albeit after a full five minutes.

Kara leans back, arms still loose around her back "You haven't been eating," she says, concerned, looking, Lena presumes, at her hollowed out eyes and dark circles from her sleepless nights.

"No, I haven't been sleeping," she corrects, imperiously, and amends when Kara gives her a look "Which, technically has led to my lack of hunger."

"Well, it's a good thing I brought lunch then."

"Kara, I can't eat now. After a while, maybe…just not now."

"Please?" Kara asks her, puppy dog eyes full force, and Lena almost breaks.

"I….."

"Not even if I feed you?" she looks at her, imploringly, and Lena blushes so hard her face almost goes up in flames. That makes Kara blush too, and Lena buries her face in Kara's shoulder again, craving her touch.

"Kara," she sighs, and Kara pulls away to look at her again.

"Yes?"

Lena stares at her. At her blue eyes, at her perfect nose, her lips, her forehead. At all the freckles, and that one lock of hair hanging over her face. She takes a deep breath.

"I love you," she says, and breathes out again "I love you, Kara. I love you. I love you. I really, really, really, love….."

Then she doesn't get to complete her sentence because Kara is suddenly kissing her, ardent, loving. Suddenly the hero stops, pulls away "I'm sorry, I should've asked."

"That's okay," she says, breathless, and kisses her again.

Yeah. The world is beautiful when you are in love.


End file.
